Author's Note
----------------------------
The ever-so popular Battlefield 2 has brought back the eternal gaming moments
of massive online fragfests, with the ideas of some realistic scenarios.
Battlefield 2142 continues the tradition in the future, set apart by nearly 150
years, with futuristic ships, vehicles, and a few new weapons. DICE's newest
creation takes the classic-old formula of BF2, yet upgrades it with more ranks,
more cool stuff, and some propaganda to make the title interesting. This guide
will cover basic strategies of BF2142, discuss unlocks/ranks, go over maps on a
somewhat intricate detail, and most of all, provide multiplayer tips to
becoming a better player. Will you strive for perfection, or continue to roam
as the lonely new player?

Contributing/Feedback
----------------------------
If you have any contributions, feedback, or strategies you'd like to have
added to the guide, contact me via e-mail or on GameFAQs. I'll be more than
content to add your segment of information, and will also provide credit. If
you have any questions you'd like added to the Common Questions section, ask.
I simply don't have the time to sit around thinking of questions. Provide me
with what you want to know!

Updates
----------------------------
=12/27/06= v1.10
The new 1.10 patch came out several days ago and is suppose to fix certain
issues hassling gameplay elements. There have actually been major changes with
this patch regarding fixes to the Ganz HMG, the cloak, and some gameplay bugs
that remain. Most of the remaining Titan glitches have been removed - so no
more glitching, har har har. EA is also planning to host some beneficial events
for all BF2142 players. Things such as an all-unlocks weekend, and Knife-the-EA
employee are just a few events that are planned or have been completed.

=11/26/06= v1.06
Corrected a mistake in the guide (thanks Alex Hanson & Alex Pierson). Patch
1.05 came out about a week ago, and was a mild failure thanks to a Titan crash
to desktop glitch that affected everyone. DICE released a hotfix patch about
2-3 days after 1.05, which fixes the problem. I thank them on their speediness,
although this looks bad for DICE in terms of testing their patch. You can now
get the Titan Survival Pin if you manage to bail off the enemy Titan and touch
the ground. More great news. It appears EA has been personally swiping stat
padders, and may even have been using a filter that looked for players with
extremely high scores in a single round. Stat padding has generally been
removed in patch 1.06, and it is now impossible to exploit previous point-
accumulating techniques on the Titans. This still does not eliminate it
entirely as players on opposite teams can coerce to cheat. Assault rifle
deviation has been decreased on some of the larger assault rifles (Baur H-AR,
slightly on Voss L-AR). This means being assault is better now and you should
be able to get more kills.

=11/20/06= v1.01
Decided to add more detailed strategies based off of my own playing
experiences. Check for specified strategies underneath each Class in the
Class/Unlocks section. Also added a few vehicle-specific strategies. Patch 1.01
was released upon the release of the game. Make sure you download it.

=11/19/06= v1.0
Finished the FAQ. Practically everything I wanted in the guide is in it, and
I've played 2142 over the past 3 weeks to verify most of the information. I
will still add more information in the future as I get more ideas for new
sections and to update the guide along with the new patches.

=11/18/06= v1.0
Started the FAQ. I've owned this game since the release date, mainly due to my
own anxiousness to play it. I have played out all classes, all unlocks, all
maps, and can safely now write this guide out of personal satisfaction.
Expecting completion of the guide around Thanksgiving.

- I've now added a Quick Search function to the guide. Press CTRL + F, and
type in the designated (#.#) to be quickly forwarded to that specific section
of the guide.

============================
- 1) Introduction -
============================
The genre of first person shooters is often numerous and overwhelming. You can
pick up a game called World War II combat, and expect the greatest experience
of your life. Instead, it turns out to be a pile of crap. The Battlefield
series has never resembled crap, or anything along that path of quality. Often
considered one of the best first person shooting series out there, the
Battlefield series almost brings a sense of elegance in terms of gaming
quality. While the series has been known to have its bugs and problems, the fun
factor is uncomparable to other first person shooters, and combine the face
that it's online against human players - it only gets better.

Battlefield 2142 is the fourth official base title installment in the series
(1942, then Vietnam, then 2, now 2142). The game takes place in the future
where the planet Earth has been covered by a invigorating ice age. Only a few
areas of land around the planet still have considerable warmth. It is not known
what caused the ice age, although the ideas of a possible nuclear war or global
warming are most likely to blame. The future now only has 2 coalitions, the PAC
(Pan-Asian Coalition), and EU (European Union). Both bands are desperately
struggling to fight each other for control of essential resources which will
provide them with energy, food, warmth, and most of all - survival.

Battlefield 2142's game engine is practically identical to BF2. While the game
looks different, and feels slightly graphically better, it is based off of the
Battlefield 2 engine. This means most computers that could run BF2, can also
run BF2142 slightly more efficiently (thanks to coding improvements). The game
downgrades from 7 classes to only 4 classes now (recon, assault, engineer,
support), however, customization is now allowed. You can alter your equipment
setups and so forth. A new game mode has been created called Titan mode, where
you must destroy the opposing team's mothership through the use of capturing
missile silos, then holding these silos, or deciding to board the enemy ship
after the shield has gone down. This is by far the most innovative and
intriguing element of BF2142 aside from the same old capture the flag game mode
(that's in there as well).

The addition of 40+ ranks, and the fact that each new rank earns you 1 unlock
point out of 40 unlocks is quite amazing. Battlefield 2142 is the new fad for
online action gaming, although it does not have as many innovations as everyone
would have liked. Jets have been removed, as Helojets now replace them
(combination of chopper & jet). Many elements from BF2 still exist (bullet-
based weapons, speedy transport vheicles), and not that many new items have
been introduced. In a sense, BF2142 is an expansion pack, just a really darn
good one.

Requirements:
> Windows XP
> Intel Celeron D / P4 1.7ghz or better
(Pentium M's & AMD's work fine, P-M's are faster than P4)
> 512MB RAM +
(Recommended is 2 GB from my experience. 1 GB works fairly well
compared to how it did in BF2)
> DVD drive (this game was ONLY released in DVD format)
> 2.2 GB free HD space
> DirectX 9.0c
> nVidia GeForce 5800 or better, ATI Radeon 9500 or better
(There is an official list of supported video cards available
via google. People have managed to get it to work on some
lower-end mobile version cards. Game says video card must be
Pixel shader 2.0 compatible or better, and AGP/PCI-E only.)
> A good tip is that if you played BF2 before with the same exact
computer, it WILL work with BF2142.

-<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>-

============================
- 2) Game Basics -
============================
What I have always loved about PC games is the fact that you can use a keyboard
and mouse. The amount of keys gives you an overwhelming amount of options to
choose from when selecting what goes where. This section will go over the
involved controls, the screen setup, and an overview of the game modes.

- VOIP must be enabled, and you must have a MIC plugged in to talk to
teammates. You can only hear people in your squad (you must join one), or as a
squad leader, you can talk to the commander on a direct line. There is no way
to hear everyone on the same team or in the same game. Voting yes or no during
polls is usually done for kicking players or voting on a map. You can restrict
polls from popping up via the Options menu. The squad management screen let's
you create your own squad, join another, or view who is in what squad. It also
shows what vehicles are grayed out and available on the map. The spawn
management screen let's you pick a new spawn point after you die to spawn at.

- The big map basically fills your entire screen with the navigation map. It's
useful for seeing what your enemy has, and where to go next. The spotter menu
is probably the most useful in terms of recon. Aim your mouse over an enemy
target, or fairly close to it. Hold Q and left click the mouse. You will
publicly spot an enemy for your teammates, and it should show up as a flashing
icon on their radar. This is useful for spotting air vehicles, tanks, or
snipers. The squad order/spotter menu is specialized for giving orders to
squadmates. Waypoints can be set. The camera cycler is useful for changing
views in vehicles, or at certain positions.

- I highly recommend sticking with the W,S,A,D moving configuration. These four
keys are used to move your character, while the mouse is used to look around
and aim. Use them in conjunction for maximum performance. Sprinting takes away
stamina faster, and you cannot use a weapon, however, you move quickly and can
evade bullets easier. Proning lays you flat on the ground, and makes it tougher
to hit you, but your upper-body is more exposed to hits. Crouching makes you
semi-accurate, but you're still a hunched target. When reloading, the entire
clip is used to reload, regardless of your current ammo amount. It's better to
reload once you are low on ammo, rather than reloading and wasting a good 20
bullets if you only wasted 8. To pick a different firing mode, re-select your
primary weapon, and left-click. Some guns only have one firing mode though.
Certain weapons have scopes that zoom a great distance when right-clicked. The
parachute button has been changed to tapping just the space bar. You do not
have to tap 9 rapidly. Please note that certain vehicles now have you bail out
with escape pods, which do not require parachutes and will safely land you like
an ejection pod.

- Controlling land and sea vehicles is simple. Move the actual vehicle with the
W,S,A,D configuration, and rotate the turret using the mouse. If you're flying
a helojet, the vehicle performs like a harrier jet (the engines can go into a
fast jet position, or a hover position). Most transport helojets operate the
same way, except are more sluggish and have less maneuverability. Flares or
smoke shields have been removed from the game. They are replaced by a green
energy shield. This blocks ALL projectiles with the exception to anti-air fire.
If you are in a mech, and you green shield yourself, tank shells or nothing
will hurt you.

- Use the mouse for everything under the commander screen. Use keyboard
shortcuts when selecting squads. Right-clicking on a squad tab allows you to
issue direct voice commands telling them of their status. The commander screen
has some slight additions via the mouse interface. You will see icons
representing the skills of customized members in certain squads.

[2] - Minimap / Ticket Indicator - Shows amount of tickets left for
each team, who has a depletion
rate on their tickets, and also
displays your mini-map with all
icons, flag points, and what not.
Useful for navigation.

[8] - Overheat Indicator - Shows your weapon heating status. If this
reaches full, the weapon will cease to work
for a short time interval. You can also see
the firing mode the weapon is in.

[9] - Titan/Flag Indicator - Shows what silos or flags are in control
or the status of you and your opponent's
Titans along with consoles/reactor.

_________
/Gameplay/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If you are new to the Battlefield series, consider this section essential to
understanding the basics of gameplay. Gameplay in Battlefield 2142 is different
contrary to most first-person shooters. The BF series is often considered a
tactical series because one must fight but also adjust their actions so it
benefits the team.

+>/ CAPTURING FLAG OR SILO \<+
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Flag or silo capturing is a necessity that must be learned. Look on your
minimap for circular icons or flag points. When you approach one of these
points and get close enough to the radius, a small colored bar will appear
at the top middle portion of the screen. Red means the enemy has control of
it. Blue means you have control of it. If the bar is empty, that means the
flag is neutral. Stay in this radius long enough to capture the flag. You
can capture a flag/silo in vehicles as well, or with a flying vehicle as
long as you are within the radius.

+>/ COMMANDERS \<+
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ever wonder what the guy with the big star on your team does? It's pretty
simple, he issues orders and uses the commander assets. The commander assets
are pieces of equipment designed to assist the entire team in combat. He can
provide a radar satellite that reveals all enemies in a round radius -
useful for not getting ambushed or hunting down enemies. An EMP strike can
be issued to disable any enemy vehicles for a short period of time in a
certain area. Heck, even an orbital strike can be issued on capture the flag
to kill enemies or destroy vehicles. The commander has a few other abilities
including the button to move the Titan, which can be used in strategic
attacks or as part of a defensive plan.

+>/ SQUADS \<+
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Squads were put in the BF series so players can coordinate attacks rather
than run around aimlessly. Squads can hold up to 6 players maximum, and you
can use your microphone to speak to them by holding down V. The squad leader
in your squad has a special squad item (if he/she has unlocked one) that
will assist each of you in combat or in reaching a certain area. Squads can
have orders set as well, and you will get a squad bonus point for following
the order and performing an action. Let's say you're told to attack flag #1.
Follow the waypoint on your minimap, then kill someone inside the radius of
the order to receive your normal points + 1 for following the order radius.
Note that if your entire squad accumulates ENOUGH squad radius points, then
you will unlock a Field Upgrade (10 squad points between the entire squad =
1 upgrade). A Field Upgrade is a temporary unlock, but it will only let you
go up one block on your tech tree. So you simply cannot stack field upgrades
to get the Baur H-AR. You would only be able to go up one level above your
current tech ability.

+>/ TITAN \<+
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Titan is a new feature to BF 2142, and can often be a haggling
experience to new players. The layout is simple. If you choose to spawn on
it, you'll spawn in the transport bay of the Titan. If you go towards the
declining steps, then go left/right, this stairwell will take you down to
the core of the Titan. From here will be four hallways. Two on the left are
hallways 2 & 4, two on the right are hallways 1 & 3. The upper hallways are
4 & 3, respectively. The lower hallways are 2 & 1 respectively. The center
door that is sealed is the reactor room. This door becomes unbreached when
all four of your consoles in the hallways are destroyed. As a defender, your
goal is to prevent the enemy from blowing up the consoles in the hallway,
and the reactor core itself (it has a giant purple beam sticking out of it).
As an attacker, your goal is to breach these areas and destroy them.
If you go back to the transport bay, and look where the six computer
consoles are against the middle wall - these are your turrets. Four of them
fire explosive rays underneath your Titan, and two of them man anti-air
turrets. If one is damaged or destroyed, it can be repaired by an engineer
with a welder by interacting with the console. Also note that left & right
of the computer consoles are 6 cylindrical pods (3 on each side). Press E on
the pod and you'll jump inside. You can now aim your body like a cannon in
the circus to launch yourself in an ejection pod. You can guide the pod
manually to go where you desire.

On top of your Titan are two vents. The landing flap to the rear is called
the Cargo Bay. The transport bay always stay shielded, even if your shields
go down. The vents are the most common point of entry since no warning is
alarmed, and there is a tactical sniping advantage from this point. If you
are defending inside the Titan, warnings will alarm when enemies are
detected in the Cargo Bay, or in each hallway. You will see a green message
in the upper left. Damaged consoles or the reactor cannot be repaired, so do
your best to prevent damage to them. Remember that missile silos on the
ground will do damage to the Titan itself, so you must micromanage enough
squads to continue fighting on the ground level while defending your Titan
or attacking the other.

-<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>-

============================
- 3) Maps (3.1) -
============================
The territories you constantly engage throughout the game are called maps.
Battlefield 2142 has 10 maps included with the base game. Not to be biased or
anything, but most of the maps are either covered with snow, or based off of a
desert atmosphere. The environment is generally darker and more misty compared
to Battlefield 2, where you had a wide variety of landscapes.

> Conflict: EU vs. PAC
> Modes: Conflict
> Rating: ****
> Description: "Belgrade is a closely intertwined conflict area with apartment
buildings, a few streets, several in-the-field capture points,
and a monorail that follows around the conflict zone."

:> Key Bases (EU):

- Getting the Statue flag will be your utmost goal. The problem is that the
EU have a slight disconnection from the battlefield, and only 2 flags are
fairly close to your vicinity. The PAC will have the initial rush, so
holding the Statue flag in the middle and to the left is crucial. This will
also prove to be a great ambush point against opposing Mechs or APCs (plus a
mech spawns at this point).

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- Holding the statue or controlling the middle line of flags will lead you
to victory (especially capturing the Monorail flag). This Monorail flag is a
key base point to the EU's success, and sneaking a transport vehicle behind
there certainly cannot hurt. One item of note though, at the beginning, do a
vehicle rush towards the statue flag. You'll get a free mech after capturing
the flag at this point, and you'll be closer to the statue flag from your
uncappable zone.

- This is definitely one of the higher quality maps in BF2142. It resembles to
be somewhat like Strike at Karkand, with lots of chaos occuring around flag
points, lots of snipers in second-floor railings, and occasional APCs/Mechs
trying to rape. One great strategy is to simple grab an armored vehicle, and do
it for the whole round. Travel along the main road, and just stop at a point
and far away at enemies. Staying in the middle of this road makes it difficult
for the opposition to flank and destroy you. If you are trying to capture one
of the middle flags, enter the apartment buildings, and look for a side
stairwell. Most of them lead to a second floor railing which you will find
useful in defending or attacking an area. Snipers are effective on this map,
along with medics due to close combat in these apartment corridors. Engineers
are also very efficient with their SMG and anti-armor capabilities. The only
advice I can offer in defending a flag is to keep your distance from the flag.
Many users throw grenades at these flag points, or will snipe you from an
opposing apartment building.

- There is an elevated monorail path that is much higher and goes along the
main road. You can reach it by going to either the Monorail flag point and
climbing 2-3 ladders, or going to the area where the monorail ends, and
manually jumping up there. Get a squad leader to drop a beacon on the
monorail for quick and easy access. Other great sniper spots include placing
squad beacons next to extremely tall buildings, then hoping your squadmates
spawn on top of one of the tall-buildings. The apartment buildings have
great second-story railings that provide you with adequate cover. Block your
side stairwells with claymores or RDX.

- All you have to worry about is rear-flag defense. This does not mean you
have to sit back at your home flags the entire round; it just means making
sure you don't LOSE your rear flags. Once you lose rear flags, the PAC will
seep in and try to flank you from the rear. If they are successful, your
chances of victory decrease. All you really have to do is make sure you
don't lose a rear flag, and just guard your first flag. The narrow
boundaries on this map practically ensure that flanking is not an option.
You also have a mech can you use that spawns at the rear flag - great for
just holding a position.

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- Let's put it this way, you have a disadvantage. Your primary goal is to
get a flag, ANY flag. As long as its the rear flag, or close to it, you're
good. You want something that will let your teammates have enough time to
spawn at, so they can spread out and take other nearby flags. This can best
be accomplished by taking a transport vehicle, and boosting through pass the
nearby defenders.

- It's definitely a combat-infantry intensive map. Camp Gibraltar is a desert-
based map that has yellow haze on it, so being a long-range sniper is not a
necessarily great goal. It's awesome to be a sniper at certain spots (on the
walkway railings or near the side flanks), but you'll see that engineers andassault are dominant on this one. Place sentry guns near the ladders, and have
your engineers mine up the main roads if on defense. On offense, simply cap a
flag, defend it for a bit, and move onward. Use the nearby rail guns to take
out an enemy mech if it spawns. Due to the narrow extremities of this map, it
helps to get elevation. You'll find ladders at guard towers a bit further in on
the map. Use these ladders to get up high so you have an advantage. Watch for
orbital strikes as well; they will rape your team.

:> Sniper Spots

- Any of the guard towers, the roofs of buildings, or wide-open fields on
the flanks will work best. There is no specifically dominant sniper point as
the elevations are limited on this map, and the haze reduces visibility.

> Conflict: EU vs. PAC
> Modes: Conflict
> Rating: *****
> Description: "Cerbere Landing is the only hill-based battle in a small town
with lots of infantry combat and scenes that remind you of
World War II."

:> Key Bases (EU):

- Since you start off as the defenders, holding the Church or initial
neutral flag are your best options. One flag you do not want to lose is your
Command Center, not because it's your "rear" flag, but because it has all of
your commander assets. Commander assets are crucial on this map, especially
orbital strikes. Plus, the big bunker at the CC flag is a great spot for
snipers, and defending any flags below this point.

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- Church will be your primary goal. Most EU players camp the left side of
the map. You may have access to the Harbor flag, but it will take some
skilled flanking to reach. Instead, flank right along the hill with the
small road, and take the church from the rear. Then, from here, stage your
battle immediately left towards the Harbor flag (then south to take care of
the initial neutral flag). With these 3 flags, you'll be set. Sometimes it
helps to nitrous oxide a jeep up to the Command Center, but there are
usually opponents waiting here.

- What makes Camp Gibraltar a beautiful map is its design, close-quarters
battles, and generally normal appearance. It's one of the few maps with little
snow, and one of the few maps without haze. The hill-based design is great for
tossing grenades, especially to flush out defenders. As support, it rocks as a
defender because you have the elevation factor, and you simply have to aim down
at your enemies with natural cover of the mountainside. Make sure to mine the
roads to prevent jeeps from simply scouring to your rear flags. An enemy mech
may pop up from time to time for the PAC since they have the initial
disadvantage. Make use of the mounted rail guns to deal with it. Shotgun
support players are effectively useful on this map due to the close-corner
alleys, and constant moving approach.

:> Sniper Spots

- The top of the Command Center bunker can be reached via a stairwell. Climb
the ladder to reach the very top, then snipe opponents that flank either
from the right (where the commander assets are) or up the left where the
road is. You will find great sniper spots near the outer-zone boundaries.
Use the scenery as cover. Other sniper spots include crouching behind the
stone walls, then aiming and firing down. Don't forget to spam grenades at
heavily infested points.

- Since you start off as the defenders, holding the front flag, and making
sure it stays that way is crucial. You will have a mech that spawns at your
rear flag, along with an APC. Make sure you do not lose the rear flag. There
is a northern flank at your frontline flag that is often exposed. Make sure
you don't get tricked or outflanked from this northern wall (it looks like a
sharp snowblocked road). Put a sentry below to make sure no one pops down
from it.

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- Any flag will help ensure victory. Working from the rear flag is an
outreached dream. Most players are smart enough to defend their rear flag,
and some will be waiting there (especially for an APC or mech). Your best
option is to take one of the 2 middle flags, then spread out from that
position. Your best method of attacking is via an APC. Get in one, even if
you're just operating a side turret, and then bail out when near a flag. Cap
it, get back inside, and you'll cruise off to the next flag.

- Fall of Berlin and Cerbere Landing are the 2 premiere maps of BF2142. Fall of
Berlin has hardly any fog, is completely snow covered, and has the tallest
buildings in the game. Vehicles will rack you up the most kill, although being
a foot soldier and defending a flag is also beneficial. The best
recommendations I can give is to be a sniper, and to camp a great spot if you
find one. If you don't like camping, play with a assault rifle and do a roamingoperation. If the enemy takes one of your rear flags, retreat and take it back.
If on offense, constantly roam on foot through the apartment buildings or take
a side flank to reach a flag. Your primary goal on this map is getting at least
2 flags, because if you don't have 2 flags, your chances of victory are slim.

:> Sniper Spots

- There is a ladder in the northern-middle section of the map that leads to
a very elevated position. This elevated position is next to a monorail
track. If you prone left of the monorail track where the railing is, you get
a perfect scoped view of every enemy spawning on this first middle flag.
It's one of the best sniper spots in the game if you can reach it, and since
the ladder is the only access to this area, block your rear with a
claymore/explosive charge. You will find side hallways in apartment
buildings with second-floor railings that can be used for cover. There are
second-floor & third-floor railings in the central buildings in the middle
parts of the map that also act as great spots.

- If in Conquest mode, you will start off with all the flags on defense.
This is a gift from the Gods my friend. All you have to do is practically
isolate every land-based entry point through the first flag. Do so with
roller mines, EMP mines, rail gun cannons, and your gaming skills. Watch for
someone trying to sneak a jet nearby. Man the AA cannons as well. If in
titan mode, the battle will be a bit more evenly matched. Keep the northern
silos where your titan rests. Most commanders will move your Titan near the
middle of the map, which makes it a great access point to reach the
remaining silos through ejection pods.

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- In Conquest, HURRY. Grab a jeep and sprint through before they practicallylockdown the only land access through the first flag. If it is locked, grab
the helojet, and boost past their defenses in the air. Go north to their
airport, and cap it, or cap a nearby flag that looks undefended. This will
give your team an infiltration point to move and capture more flags. Without
this infiltration point, you will get RAPED attempting offense. In Titan
mode, follow the same strategies as EU since everything is a practical
mirror image.

- The success of Minsk lies in the fact that it is the best Titan map, and
decently fun (sometimes frustrating) CTF map. The wide-open design leaves less
CQB, but more medium-to-long range encounters. Snipers are a plus as there is
hardly any haze. You can reach the tall skyscrapers via transport helojets, or
with squad beacons. These make great sniping points. Most of all, defending 1
or 2 critical silo points throughout the game can prove to be a challenging but
efficient effort on your part.

:> Sniper Spots

- The skyscrapers at the southeast flag/silo are your best choice. The roofs
of the fortress buildings at certain flags next to AA guns are also
efficient sniper locations. Other than that, most of your sniping should be
done mobile, or from a spot inside your Titan on defense/offense.

- Holding the center stadium point is where most of the action will occur.
Holding this point, along with the flags/silos on your side of your Titan
are pretty much your ideal goals at this point. Try nailing a squad beacon
at the roof of the stadium at the center flag to be a dominant player.

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- Follow the same strategies as the EU. The only difference is that your
land-based route to reaching the stadium flag is a bit longer than the EU.
You must take a slightly northern road to reach the center flag, while the
EU have a direct route to the stadium.

- Minsk has lots of tanks, jeeps, and transport helojets. If you plan on going
to the center flag, do it with an air vehicle. Going on foot or with a jeep
takes a bit of time, and your chance of running into enemy armor is high.
Getting on top of the stadium is a great spawn point, but not a great sniper
point (the edges of the stadium are slanted so you cannot peak down to snipe).
Make use of the AA turrets at the roof of the garages at each flag to prevent
enemy transport hoppers. Watch for occasional players to flank your rear flags
without your knowledge. Other than that, a somewhat boring map in the sense of
a lack of variety.

:> Sniper Spots

- There are occasional towers and oil refineries, but their locations are
out of place and away from the action. These are tempting, but worthless
sniper spots. You'll want to look for any elevated tower or walkway NEAR a
flag or silo. The stadium is a great spot, but you cannot snipe from it.
It's great though in terms of infiltration to the center flag. Most players
will be in vehicles on this one, so unless you find an elevated position
near the center flag, most action will occur on the Titan.

> Conflict: EU vs. PAC
> Modes: Conflict, Titan
> Rating: **
> Description: "This concentrated map near the center has lots of action that
intersects at the very center, almost like a 4-way stop sign,
minus the deaths, explosions, and plasmic destruction."

:> Key Bases (EU):

- Hold one flag/silo close to your Titan, and at least 2 flags/silos around
the center point. Holding the center point means a lot, but in terms of
launching missiles, possession will change rapidly. The key trait of holding
the center is access to 2 railguns, a helojet, and 2 AA guns. Make use of
them.

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- Follow the same goal as the EU. If they do get concentrated at the center,
then play a more simple role - take the outer flags. If the enemy gets too
congested at a certain spot, simply go elsewhere, cap more flags/silos, and
make them come to you. Keep your options spread out if they are isolated,
and keep them isolated if they are spread out.

- Sidi Power Plant is the map from the "demo", which was often considered a
not-so-great map. This is true, however, what keeps Sidi from being the worst
map in the game is the multitude of mechs you can get. Up to 4 mechs can be
handled at once, and since most of the action occurs in and around the center
point, this makes the map somewhat fun and invigorating. Air vehicles will also
be skimming around, so make sure to pop yourself into an AA turret to get some
easy kills. Just avoid getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. There is a
decent amount of wasted space on this map from the uncappable points to where
the actual action takes place.

:> Sniper Spots

- You will find one oil tower right of the middle that has decent sniping
opportunities. The lack of fog is beneficial on this map for sniping. You
will find a few structures that have stairwells with access to the roof.
There is one very tall elevator tower left of the center point, but it can
only be reached by ejected from an aircraft. It is superior sniping spot,
though. This map is somewhat shaped like a cereal bowl, with higher
elevations around the boundary zones. Try sniping along these points if you
manage to find a concentrated amount of enemies at one flag.

- If in Conquest mode, you'll have every possible flag. This is good, but
not THAT much of an advantage. Your enemy has 2 uncappable zones, along with
hover tanks, which can be a tad more difficult to hit. Plus, the wide
boundaries on Suez allows for flankers to zoom by in transport vehicles, and
attempt to take your rear flag. Case in point - hold your rear flag! Losing
this loses access to a helojet, loses access to critical armor, loses access
to commander assets, and loses access to take it back (it's easy to defend
the rear flag with the long bridge, and stairway that must lead up to the
flag).

- Suez Canal is definitely one of the more interesting maps. It has a large
canal system near the rear where one lone flag/silo is. This lone flag/silo is
easy to defend, but a critical resource in terms of victory. The other flags
are practically swish-swash points, they will interchange hands during the
entire round. However, whoever holds the rear flag does get an advantage, and
the advantage helps greatly in Conquest mode. As for Titan mode, all silos are
near the center. Do your job in hop-capping until their shield is down, then
use the flat terrain to easily access their Titan.

:> Sniper Spots

- There are occasional triangle-beam towers near certain flags. Access them
by ejecting from a helojet. Their extreme elevation makes them great sniper
spots. There are also refinery towers near certain flags, and the roof of
Suez flag can be accessed by a beacon near the wall. This huge rectangular
building makes a great sniper spot for your squadmates spawning on the squad
beacon.

- Hold the two closest flags to your uncappable. It's as simple as that. You
cannot do this and you do not win. You can do this, and you win. You will
have the initial advantage of being just a tad quicker to the central flag,
but not by much. Defending your junkyard should be easy because there is
little cover for the flag carriers. Attacking the far right flag is somewhat
difficult as there are generally lots of PAC enemies here, and the congested
cover of that flag can make things somewhat chaotic.

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- Hold the two closest flags to your uncappable. There is very little
strategy on this map. Try to get the walker in your uncappable spawn, and
use it to assist in taking the central southern flag. If you fail at doing
this, flank via the far right around the building, then going upward through
the open desert. Note that you CAN flank on the outside exterior of the see-
through fence, but watch for leaving the boundaries.

- The design and fogginess of Tunis Harbor makes it a somewhat engaging map,
but little strategy is involved. Most of your tactics will involve camping the
roofs surrounding a flag, or simply sniping from afar, or firing away with a
machine gun. Each team will have a mech in their uncappable spawn, and a few
transport jeeps, but no armor/APCs. You will find a ship and metal walkways
that interconnect along the north flank, but, the lack of cover makes it
difficult to cross here. Because of this, you'll generally follow the roads
that run adjacent to the flags. This becomes a problem as few roads have
adequate cover. So you'll end up flanking along the sides, and generally have
squads around corners waiting for easy targets. Other squads may establish
their setup points on the roof of buildings, and spam grenades, or snipe from
afar. From a combat standpoint, the map has positive aspects, but the foggy
design takes away a certain potentiability of this map.

:> Sniper Spots

- Anywhere along the metal walkway to the north is a great spot. Sniping
from the ladder-accessible roofs in the garages are also decent spots. There
is a burning crane at the center flag that can be reached by a stairwell.
This is actually a great spot.

> Conflict: EU vs. PAC
> Modes: Conflict, Titan
> Rating: ***
> Description: "The established perimeter wall in the center gives the feeling
that you're fighting amongst a Great Wall, except there is
plenty of nonestablishment yet to prevail."

:> Key Bases (EU):

- Try to hold the far north and far south points, then use your remaining
troops to combat near the middle, or flank other positions. Holding the
perimeter areas of this map makes it easier to force your opponents into
going somewhere else.

:> Key Bases (PAC):

- If your opponent has both the north and southern points, then concentrate
your attacks on one point, take it, and quickly flee to another flag/silo.
Most of the combat/strategy will be balanced on Verdun with little advantage
going to either side. Capturing the Church silo/flag will be somewhat
difficult due to the small town buildings that intertwine in that area.

- Verdun has a natural cool feel to it which brings something new to the table.
The constant fall of snowflakes reduces visibility, but also increases the
chances of air encounters. Helojets will be prevalent on this one, especially
during Titan mode. The center point is more of a ploy, than a necessity. Work
your way on the church and southern wall flag so you can have some secured
perimeters. Hold whatever flag/silo is closest to your Titan/uncap. There is
some elevat